President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has accepted former prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming’s (黃世銘) resignation, and Huang is now officially relieved of his duties, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
Huang tendered his resignation on March 21, hours after the Taipei District Court found him guilty of leaking confidential information to the president about an — at the time — ongoing investigation into allegations of undue influence on the judiciary involving Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in September last year.
The court sentenced Huang to 14 months in prison, but the ruling can still be appealed and the jail time commuted to a fine.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Huang is the first prosecutor-general to be indicted on a criminal charge in the history of Taiwan’s judiciary.
The DPP on Wednesday questioned Ma’s motives in putting Huang’s resignation on hold for 11 days, saying that, since his four-year tenure expires on April 18, Huang would likely be able to serve out his full term and “retire honorably” if his resignation is not approved by that day.
Although the president had already nominated Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Head Prosecutor Yen Ta-ho (顏大和) to succeed Huang, the Legislative Yuan has been unable to approve the selection due to the occupation of the legislative chambers by students opposed to the cross-strait service trade pact.
On Wednesday, former journalist Huang Yueh-hong (黃越宏) filed a lawsuit at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office against Ma and Huang Shih-ming, saying that the president’s delay in approving the resignation would allow Huang Shih-ming to keep receiving a salary and supervising prosecutors across the country.
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